Before today’s announcement, the future of the Pro Bowl was in doubt, in large part because the quality of the game had dropped significantly in recent years, with many players opting out of the game, and others clearly playing at half-speed, with little attempt to tackle.

The 2012 Pro Bowl was low-key enough that former Bronco safety Brian Dawkins was able to play despite a nerve issue in his neck that had kept him out of the Broncos’ playoff run. Several players in that game also tried out new positions, including a short stint at safety by Broncos running back Willis McGahee.

“The players believe that the Pro Bowl is an important tradition,” said NFLPA President (and former Bronco) Domonique Foxworth said in a statement issued by the NFL and NFLPA. “We worked hard with the league to make sure the best players in the NFL are honored for their achievements on the field.”

On the same day Saints GM Mickey Loomis and assistant coach Joe Vitt are appealing suspensions at NFL headquarters, an explosive (and expletive-laden) audio recording from former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has emerged.

In the speech, which was recorded by filmmaker Sean Pamphilon in the Saints locker room before a playoff game with the 49ers, Williams implores the Saints to target specific specific players, including quarterback Alex Smith, running back Frank Gore, and receivers Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams, and tight end Vernon Davis. San Francisco won the game, 36-32.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III became the first Heisman Trophy winner to squeeze in mid-day workout at the Bob L. Burger Recreation Center into his busy day. Griffin, attending the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Denver, spent some time Monday at the Lafayette facility as he prepares for the NFL draft later this month.

Baylor’s women’s basketball team (39-0) will play in the national final Tuesday night as it attempts to be the first 40-win team in NCAA history. Griffin, glad in a green Baylor sweatshirt, attended the Lady Bears’ win over Stanford Sunday night.

Griffin is expected to be the No. 2 pick of the draft — by Mike Shanahan’s Washington Redskins. The Redskins, even as Shanahan was met with Peyton Manning in Denver, pulled off the draft’s blockbuster deal thus far to move into position to select Griffin.

Pittsburgh Steelers fans wave their Terrible Towels as the Steelers face the Denver Broncos during an NFL game in Denver in November 2009.

Speaking Wednesday during teleconferences with Denver media covering the Broncos, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said they continue to be amazed by how many Steelers fans show up in opposing stadiums — perhaps like Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

“It’s awesome,” Roethlisberger said. “I think it kind of blows most people away. When you’re on the road and you have guys on other teams that aren’t used to seeing that.

“All of a sudden, they see the Steelers fans come in and they’re like, ‘Holy cow. What’s going on?’ It’s a pretty neat feeling.”

The Broncos on Monday learned who they’ll face next season, home and away, after the NFL released each team’s opponents. The full schedule with days and times will be released later, likely in the spring.

But the Broncos, coming off an 8-8 season as AFC West champs, will face another tough slate next season, including games against the Steelers, Saints, Ravens and Patriots.

A Steelers fan, among many, showed up in 2010 when the Steelers played a preseason game in Denver against the Broncos.

Broncos coach John Fox coached the Steelers defensive secondary for three seasons (1989-91) and knows how their fans can take over an opponent’s stadium.

He does not want that to happen on Sunday for the playoff game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

“We’ve got unique fans here (in Denver),” Fox said Monday. “I would encourage all of them to keep their seats, so to speak, and not sell them to Pittsburgh fans, so our stadium remains as active and loud as it’s been — more blue and orange, as opposed to yellow and gold.”

There can’t be many more difficult matchups in the AFC than a linebacker trying to hang with Patriots tight end extraordinaire Rob Gronkowski.

But at times that will be the challenge facing Broncos linebacker Joe Mays on Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Gronkowski is just a second-year player from the University of Arizona but already ranks among the best. His 71 receptions ranks third among NFL tight ends, behind New Orleans’ Jimmy Graham (80) and Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez (73).

“You just try to get your hands on him as soon as you can,” Mays said of Gronkowski. “(You try to) jam him on the line, slow him down, slow his momentum down, just make Tom Brady look somewhere else. That’s what we’re going to try to do this week, and hopefully it works for us. We’re definitely going to try to work hard to get that done.”

A bob-and-weave interview exchange between New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Wednesday during Belichick’s teleconference with media who cover the Broncos:

REPORTER: “Were you considering drafting Tim in the first round in 2010?”

BELICHICK: “We evaluate all the players that are draft eligible, every year. The way the draft unfolds, we make the decisions in each of our picks for what’s best for our football team. We do that with every pick, every year.”

REPORTER: “Did you have a first-round grade on him, Bill?

BELICHICK: “I’m not going to get into what our grades are on individual players. But obviously, we scout everybody. I have a lot of respect for Tim. I have a real high opinion of him. I think everybody knows that.”

Upon further review the Miami Dolphins officially sacked Tim Tebow six times in Sunday’s 18-15 Broncos victory.

Initially, on-site, seven sacks went into the statistical record following the game. But after reviewing the game, a sack by Dolphins defensive end Kendall Langford just before halftime was changed to a tackle on a rushing attempt by the Elias Sports Bureau.

The play came with 41 seconds remaining in the first half at the Broncos’ 32-yard line. Tebow was lined up in the shotgun, but after accepting the sack, he quickly tucked the ball under his left arm for a run up the middle.

Sunday’s down-and-up left them losing one spot. But there’s a bright spot: Among the bottom seven teams in the rankings, the Broncos are the highest scoring among them. No doubt a 14-point outburst behind Tebow in the fourth quarter helped boost those stats.

The Broncos have two more weeks of ideal NFL waiver-claim position. They are No. 2, behind only Carolina, by virtue of last year’s record. Carolina was an NFL-worst 2-14 last season while the Broncos tied for second-worst with a 4-12 record. The Broncos “won” the tiebreaker against Buffalo and Cincinnati by virtue of having the weakest opponent schedule.

Kyle Orton has one year left on his Broncos contract. Is that enough time to reach the playoffs?

The Denver Post on Thursday will release a 16-page Broncos and NFL preview, breaking down team needs and John Elway’s vision for where the team will head. Find it in a special print section and online at denverpost.com/broncos.

The Chargers were one of the most active teams in free agency, signing 13 veteran players. Before the 2010 season, the Chargers signed only five veteran free agents. If they get a contribution from safety Bob Sanders (age 30) and linebacker Takeo Spikes (34), the Chargers will return to their familiar perch atop the division. Prediction: 10-6

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs took a slow, steady approach to training camp this year. That strategy will be beneficial if they stay healthier than their AFC brethren. The bigger issue for the defending division champions is the constant rumblings that coach Todd Haley and general manager Scott Pioli are butting heads — a sure recipe for failure over the long haul. Prediction: 8-8

Can Michael Vick lead a star-studded Philadelphia Eagles team to the NFC championship game?

The Denver Post on Thursday will release a 16-page Broncos and NFL preview, breaking down team needs and John Elway’s vision for where the team will head. Find it in a special print section and online at denverpost.com/broncos.

Their offensive plans, which now include QB Kevin Kolb throwing to a $120 million receiver in Larry Fitzgerald, took a hit when RB Ryan Williams suffered a ruptured tendon in his knee in the preseason. Their two-deep is a huge question mark. Former Pro Bowl safety Adrian Wilson tore a biceps tendon, and they lack a top-shelf pass rusher. Prediction: 9-7

St. Louis Rams

They have a potential franchise QB in Sam Bradford, who was cocooned in two-tight end and two-back looks last season as a rookie, but will not have that luxury this year in Josh McDaniels’ more open formations. They haven’t shown they can protect their most prized player in this preseason, and their run defense is an enormous question mark. Prediction: 6-10

The Broncos have made contact with representatives for free agent defensive tackle Amobi Okoye. The Texans had given Okoye, a former first-round pick by the team, permission to pursue a trade.

When no takers emerged with a trade offer, however, the Texans waived Okoye. Okoye was one of the most athletic defensive line prospects in that ’07 draft, he hasn’t always been able to consistently show that in the NFL.

He is, however, considered a quality run defender and the Broncos will have some competition for his services having been one of five teams who have formally expressed interest in the fifth-year veteran. At least part of the reason for the demand is that Okoye entered the ’07 draft as the youngest player on the board so he is still only 24 despite having already played four seasons in the league.

Two Colorado-area college players have agreed to NFL free-agent contracts. Marc Schiechl, an outside linebacker from the Colorado School of Mines, agreed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Zac Pauga, a fullback from Colorado State, agreed with the Houston Texans.

Both Schiechl and Pauga were regular attendees of Loren Landow’s offseason conditioning program that also took in several Bronco players.

Having wrestled with more than his share of migraine-inducing equations as he grinds toward a degree from the Colorado School of Mines, Marc Schiechl knows how things add up.

He gets the math, all right.

“One,” he said. “That’s all you need. One team, one coach, one scout, just one person who believes in what you can do. That’s all I’m trying to do, is find that one team that believes in what I can do, because I believe it.”

After all, Mines was the only school that offered Schiechl a chance to play football after he graduated from Bear Creek High School.

I wrote a story on the Broncos’ 2011 tight end tandem of Richard Quinn and Dan Gronkowski, at least until fourth-round rookie Julius Thomas comes along, for tomorrow’s Denver Post. I got to thinking about how little the Broncos used their tight ends last season and got invested in some research. Here’s what I compiled:

Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen departs and is trailed by reporters after owners and the players union failed to reach an agreement in labor talks on March 11, 2011, in Washington, D.C. (Jonathan Ernst, Getty Images)

Broncos owner Pat Bowlen has sent an open letter to Broncos fans apologizing for the NFL’s labor impasse.

“You have every right to be disappointed and frustrated with the lack of a collective bargaining agreement … As owner of the Denver Broncos and co-chair of the NFL Management Council Executive Committee, I want to say that I share your level of frustration.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.